Can-opener.



7 No. 863,652. PATENTED AUG. 20, 1907.

' e. M. ROSS.

cm OPENER.

AIPLIOATIOK FILED AUG. 10. 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

nvzul'oaq 660. W 8055,

No. 863,652. PATBNTED AUG. 20. 1907. G. M. ROSS. CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED ATM. 10. 1908- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

hieoaza GEORGE M. ROSS, OF HARWOOD, MISSOURI.

CAN-OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug". 20, 1907.

Application filed August 10,1906. Serial 3 ,06

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. Ross, a citizen of the United States,residing at Harwood, in the county of Vernon, State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to can openers, and has for its object to providea device of this natiue which may be utilized to cut the top out of acan or to cut the entire end off of a can, as may be desired.

The invention resides in the provision of a device of this naturecomprising a fixed head-plate, a movable knife-carrying block, and ahandle for the tool which may be operated to move the movable block andadjust the same to suit different sized cans.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for limiting thedownward movement of the tool when cutting the end off of a can, therebyinsuring a perfectly straight cut.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is a side elevation of the tool.Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same. Fig. 4is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the same, and, Fig. 5is a detail vertical transverse sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 6 denotes thehandle of the tool, and 7 a shank which is secured at one of its ends inthe handle and is screw-threaded throughout its length, as at 8, exceptat its outer end and its point of junction with the handle 6. A collar 9is formed at the extreme outer end of the shank 7 and upon the plainportion of this end of the shank and between the collar 9 and thethreads 8 is loosely engaged a head-plate 10, there being an opening 11formed in the plate for this piupose.

A rod 12 is secured at one of its ends to the plate l0 at a pointdirectly above the shank 7, and extendsrearwardly in spaced parallelrelation thereto, as shown in Fig. 1. The rear end of the rod 12 is bentdownwardly at right angles to its main portion, as at 13, is enlarged,and is provided with an eye 14 through which is engaged that portion ofthe shank which lies between the screw-threads 8 and the adjacent end ofthe handle 6.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the handle may be turned torotate the shank 7. A knife block 14 is provided with a threaded bore15, is engaged upon the threaded portion of the shank, and is heldagainst rotation therewith by means of the rod 12, which is looselyengaged through an opening 16 formed therethrough, it being understoodthat by this construction, when the shank is rotated as above stated,the block will be moved longitudinally thereof, toward or away from theplate 10, according to the direction of rotation of the handle 6.

A tooth 17 is formed upon the plate 10 at its lower edge and projectsdownwardly and thence forwardly therefrom, and is designed for insertionthrough the top of the can to be opened.

In order that an opening may be cut in the top of a can or the entiretop cut off, the blades 18 and 19 are formed upon the block and projectforwardly and downwardly respectively from the front and lower edgefaces thereof, it being understood that the blade 19 is used in thefirst instance and the blade 18 in the second instance. Furthermore, itwill be understood that when the tool is to be used to cut the entiretop off of a can, the tooth 17 may be inserted therein and the handle 6rotated to force the blade 18 into the side of the can adjacent the topthereof, the entire tool being then turned to cause the blade to cut thetop therefrom.

To limit the downward movement of the tool and hold the blade 18 in thesame plane while turning the same to insure an even cut, a lug 20 isformed upon the front face of the block and projects forwardly therefromin position to rest upon the upper end of the can at its. edge.

To enable the tool to be used to cut wire, the block is notched, as at21, in its forward face for the reception of the wire and a blade 22 isformed upon one side edge of the plate 10 and extends rearwardlytherefrom in position to have a shearing contact with the correspondingface of the block. The plate 10 and the knife-block 14:

are provided above the rod 12 with abrupt opposing faces 22 and 23respectively which permit the tool to be used as a wrench when sodesired.

It is to be undersotod that I do not desire to be limited to the exactdetails of construction shown and described, for obvious modificationswill occur to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed, is

1. A tool of the class described, comprising a rotatable shank, a plateloosely carried at one end of the shank, a tooth formed on the loweredge of the plate, a block disposed upon the shank for movementlongitudinally thereon when the shank is rotated, a guide rod extendingthrough the block and connected at one end to the plate and at its otherend loosely with the shank, a pair of blades carried by the block, a lugformed on the block, and arranged to rest upon top of a can beingoperated upon by the tool, a notch in the knife-block for the receptionof a wire to be cut, and a blade upon the side of the end plate,extending rearwardly from it so arranged as to have a shearing contactwith the corresponding face of the block, and to act upon a wire in thenotch with cutting edect.

2. A tool of the class described comprising a rotatable shank, a plateloosely carried at one end of the shank, a tooth formed on one edge ofthe plate, a block disposed upon the shank for movement longitudinallythereon when the shank is rotated, a guide rod extending through theblock and connected at one end to the plate and at its other end looselywith the shank, two blades carried by the block, a lug formed on theblock and arranged to rest upon the top of a can being operated upon bythe tool, a notch in the knife-block for the reception of a wire to becut, a blade upon the one side of the end plate extending rearwardly andso arranged as to have a shearing contact with the corresponding face ofthe knife-block and to act upon a wire in the notch with a cuttingeffect, the upper 10 ends of the knife-block and end plate beingextended upwardly to form jaws. In testimony whereof, I aflix mysignature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE M. ROSS.

Witnesses:

H, HARELSON, F. VICKERS.

